Adjustable overflow device



June 25, 1935. ANDERSON 2,006,191

ADJUSTABLE OVERFLOW DEVICE Filed July 14, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 25,1935. R. (in. ANDERSON 2,006,191

ADJUSTABLE OVERFLOW DEVICE- Filed July 14, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wvaimwm Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ADJUSTABLE OVERFLOW DEVICE Richard D. Anderson, Baton Rouge, La.,assignor to Standard Oil Development Company, a corporation of DelawareThis invention relates to a level indicating device for containers whichare to be charged with at least two liquids of different gravity, andwill be fully understood from the following description read inconnection with the drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of astack or bank of the same device can be used with other containers forsimilar purposes.

It is old in the art of petroleum refining to free the slack waxobtained in the filter presses from the large amount of oil which itcontains by chilling it to a solid mass and then gradually raising thetemperature. This operation may be carried out in pan sweaters arrangedin a room of good insulating properties.

In Fig. 1 there are shown 12 pans designated by numeral I and arrangedon top of each other. Each pan has a wax and water charging line 2connected to a common header 3. The pans have sloping bottoms 4 and areprovided with a wire gauze screen or perforated metal plate 5. Drawofilines 6 are connected to the lowest part of the bottom of each pan. Thepans are also provided with water coils 6' (see Fig. 2) above the screenthrough which cold water for chilling or hot water for melting may becirculated. When starting the operation the pans are first charged withwater to a depth suflicient to cover the screen, for the purpose ofpreventing wax from getting into the discharge line, then meltedparaflin wax is charged to a depth of 5 or 6 inches. Cold water is nowsent through the coils until the wax has become solid, the water in thepan is then withdrawn and the temperature of the water in the coils isgradually raised whereby the oil sweats out of the wax, drains throughthe screens and discharges through lines at the bottoms of the pans.

When a sweater is charged at night it is almost impossible for theoperator to gage correctly the height of the oil. in the pan; thereforeconsiderable capacity is lost due to not filling the pans to theirmaximum capacity. The level indicating device of the present inventionallows to charge each pan to the maximum capacity by eliminating orgreatly lessening the hazard of overcharging the pan. This devicetherefore greatly improves the operating conditions, especially thecapacity of the sweating unit. It also permits control of the operationfrom the ground floor which greatly increases safety, since the operatoris not obliged to climb a ladder in order to ascertain the height of thecharge in the pan.

Each group of pans in the bank includes a pan provided with a levelindicating device with the exception of the 3 lowest ones. An equalrelative quantity of liquid is introduced into the pans of each group.The further details of this device may be seen on Fig. 2. The levelindicator essentially consists of a substantially vertical conduit 8which is in communication by means of line 9 with the liquid at thebottom of the pan. A convenient arrangement is shown in Fig. 2 whereline 9 is connected by means of a downwardly bent section with thebottom draw-off line 6 of the pan. The pan and. the conduit 8 connectedtherewith form a U in both legs of which the hydrostatic pressure of thefluids tends to be equalized. The discharge conduit III is connected bymeans of stufling box II with the conduit 8 in which II) can slide up ordown. Notched angle clips l2 are provided to hold each pipe conduit IIIin its vertical position. The position of conduit I0 can be adjusted bymeans of guide l3 and stop l4 so that its top will be in the A, B or Cposition required for charging water, charging wax out or aftercharging.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the discharge conduit is again connected by line 9 tothe bottom draw-off line 6. Conduit 8 has an inverted U shaped portionl5 and a by-pass line l6 connecting the two legs of the U shapedportion. A valve I1 is provided in a by-pass line which may be operatedby any means, for example, such as a long rod from the ground level. Inthe drawings the stem IU of this valve isshown keyed to a bowl l9 intowhich the U shaped portion discharges: This bowl is again rigidlyconnected with the discharge conduit 10 which extends down to the groundfloor and is open at the bottom. Conduit It] has a thrust-collar 20resting in a bracket 2| which may be spot-welded to the side wall of alower pan. Conduit II! is also provided with a hand wheel '22 by meansof which it may be turned whereby valve I! may be closed or opened bythe operator on the ground floor. The U shaped portion 55 is held bymeans of an adjustmentclamp 23 which is spot-welded to the side wall ofthe pan. a

The operation oi the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is as follows:

Discharge conduit to is first set so that its top will he in the Aposition and the pan is charged with water until the latter overflowsthrough the discharge conduit. The operator then knows that the waterhas reached the proper level in the pan, shuts off the water, sets thedischarge conduit in the second position in which its top will be at thelevel B andcegins the charging of the melted wax. When the wax level inthe pan has reached such. a height that it causes the water in conduit 8to overflow through the discharge conduit ill, i. e., when thehydrostatic pressure of the combined water and wax columns in the pan isequal to the hydrostatic pressure of the water in conduit 8, theoperator stops charging wax to that pan and sets the discharge conduitin the third position in which its top will be at the level 0.

v The operation of the device shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is identical inprinciple. Valve H is first opened and the pan is charged with wateruntil the latter reaches the by-pass line l6 and overflows, followingthe path marked by single arrows, into the bowl 3!! and hence throughdischarge conduit Iii. The operator then shuts off the water supply,closes valve l1 and begins charging of the melted wait. When the latterhas reached the proper level the water overflows following the pathmarked by double arrows The wax supplied into thepan is then shut ofi.

It will be understood that both devices can be modified so that theywill indicate the level when charging a greater number of liquids ofdifierent specific gravity. It will be suflicient for that purpose toprovide a correspondingly greater number of positions for the dischargeconduit it of Figsi l and 2 or to provide two or more valved Toy-passlines it in the inverted U shaped portion it? of Figs. 3 and 4.

Having thus described my invention and the method of carrying it out,what I claim is:

In combination with a receptacle having a charging line connected with aplurality of lines and adapted to convey a plurality of immiscibleliquids, a device for determining at least two liquid levels insuccession, comprising a substantially vertical conduit connected to thelower part of the receptacle so as to form a U therewith, a dischargeconduit substantially parallel with the first mentioned conduit, saidconduits being connected by at least two horizontal tubes, at least oneof the tubes being provided with 'a valve, the discharge conduitcomprising at least two separate sections, an upper one and a lower one,the lower one having a receptacle to receive the liquid from the uppersection and being connected with said valve by means of a stem wherebysaid valve can be operated by turning the lower section of the dischargeconduit.

RICHARD D. ANDERSON.

